Dead Man Down:
Victor is a thug and hitman for gangster Alphonse, and begins to develop a relationship with Beatrice, a woman who lives across from him in his apartment complex, who's face was reconstructed after a brutal car crash left her horribly scarred. Victor is blackmailed by Beatrice after Beatrice witnesses and films him brutally murdering another man. She tells him to take out the drunk driver responsible for her disfiguring. Meanwhile, Victor has his own dark objectives, which focus on revenge on Alphonse for something he did in the past. This film had one amazing trailer, showing off it's brutal action scenes and great actors with a soundtrack provided by Kendra Morris, with her cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". But when it began getting mixed reception, I was hesitant about it. But I'm glad I had the chance to see it. Although many people have said that the pacing is slow and some story details dull, I found it very interesting. Sure, it's not as action packed as the trailer makes it out to be, (many of the action scenes in the trailer are from the ending gun fight) but the story and characters (especially the main two characters) are enough to keep your interest for almost two hours. In fact, Colin Farrell gives one of his strongest performances in years as Victor. His struggle and personal issues are captivating, and he proves quite the bad-ass hero in the end. Noomi Rapace (the star of Oplev's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is fantastic as Beatrice, the beautiful but extremely troubled heroine of the story who's goals are questionable, but as Oplev peels back the layers of her character, we grow to like her, as Victor does, and understand why she wishes for Victor to kill the drunk driver. Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double, Captain America, Mamma Mia, The Duchess, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) gives a memorable performance as Darcy, Victor's younger friend and fellow thug, who has a wife and newborn baby to take care of. He's loyal to Alphonse, but also has a close friendship with Victor, trusting him with things he wouldn't dare tell other thugs. Terence Howard gives a great performance as the detestable villain Alphonse Hoyt, a powerful mobster who is the employer of Victor and Darcy. He is involved in drugs, extortion, and murder. Terence Howard doesn't often play the bad guy, so it was a nice change, and he does a great job at it. Isabelle Huppert plays Maman Louzon, Beatrice's kind and caring mother who lives with her in their apartment. Luis Da Silva (21 Jump Street, Burn Notice, Fast Five) and wrestler Wade Barrett play Terry and Kilroy, the two right hand men on Alphonse, who are heartless killers. Franky G (Saw II, Wonderland, The Italian Job) plays Luco, one of Alphonse's henchmen. James Biberi plays Ilir, an Albanian crime kingpin who is involved in Victor's plans for revenge on Alphonse. Niels Arden Oplev directs this thrilling crime film, the first film he's directed since 2009's Dragon Tattoo. He not only brings back actress Noomi Rapace from that film, but also composer Jacob Groth. The action sequences are brutal, well-executed, and entertaining. The highlights are the small scuffle at a drug den run by Jamaican gangsters, the chase scene/fight downtown in the first act, and the final, huge, spectacular gun battle in Alphonse's mansion. The music in the film is pretty good, it matches the tone of the film, similar to the soundtrack to the film Drive. This is a great crime movie, but it was not a box office success on it's opening weekend, mainly because it was competing with Oz The Great and Powerful. Another interesting fact, because Wade Barrett is in the film, it's a WWE Films production, something I was shocked by in the theatre. I was under the impression I was in the wrong movie. Barrett isn't even the main actor, he's a supporting character. This movie is a hell of a lot better than any other WWE film. Although there are a few flaws, such as little patches of slow pacing here and there, Dead Man Down is an entertaining and thrilling crime film with great characters, and interesting story, and a clever twist. Not bad for Oplev's first English film. 4/5 stars.
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